Chapter 26: Go to dungeons to increase rank [4]
Chapter 26: Go to dungeons to increase rank [4]
Erik and Violet were completely petrified as they watched a black mass completely envelop the hobgoblin\'s lifeless body. Neither of them could look away.
Erik was the first to react and quickly pulled out some mana stones to throw at Violet. "Take these quickly, and get your magic power back."
"Huh? Really?"
Violet grabbed the mana stones with a confused expression but quickly turned them into particles and began to absorb them to restore her magic power.
Seeing Violet regain her magical energy, Erik looked back at the hobgoblin with a complicated expression as cold sweat ran down his forehead.
\'Didn\'t the system say he defeated it?.... So, that\'s not a hobgoblin anymore.\'
He deduced quickly, knowing that the system would not lie to him about the contents of the mission. However, Erik had no idea what that was. He could only think that what he saw with his own eyes was reality.
The hobgoblin\'s body was no longer visible, it was completely covered by the black mass that now had a spherical shape. Slowly, it began to rise into the sky, while the pressure in the place gradually increased.
Looking back, Erik saw that Violet had already absorbed the mana stones. He quickly stowed his spear in his inventory and approached her.
"Are you done?" he asked hurriedly.
"Yes, I\'m done," Violet replied.
"Let\'s go before that thing finishes," Erik insisted.
Taking Violet\'s hand, he started running towards the dungeon entrance at full speed, aware that whatever was happening to the hobgoblin\'s body was not something he could deal with with his current strength.
Therefore, Erik decided to leave the place quickly, remembering the saying: \'To flee from danger is not cowardice\'. At that moment, the most important thing was to get out of there. Erik was not one to stand by and watch something terrible unfold.
\'Damn, I always have such bad luck in dungeons!\' lamented Erik.
He couldn\'t believe how unusual his experiences were in the three dungeons he had entered. In the first, as a doorman, everyone was killed by the wolf except him. In the second, though he had expected it, he was betrayed by the group. And now, with what he had witnessed with his own eyes when these were supposed to be low-ranking dungeons, the easiest.
"Erik, could you slow down a little? You\'re hurting me," Violet said, with a pained expression, as she couldn\'t keep up with Erik, who was pulling her hard as they ran through the trees.
Erik didn\'t respond, but slowed to a stop and carried her as if she were a princess. It was not the time to start a conversation; he concentrated all his strength on his feet, even creating a small crater under them, and ran at full speed through the trees.
Violet was surprised to see how effortlessly Erik held her, but decided not to comment and unconsciously snuggled into his chest. She listened to the rapid heartbeat of Erik, who was dodging the trees at incredible speed.
As they reached the exit of the dungeon, which was only a few steps away, Erik stopped and gently let go of Violet. They started walking towards the exit.
"Why did you suddenly start running? I thought we were going to take on that thing that was forming," Violet asked. She was almost certain they were preparing to fight it when Erik handed her the mana stones.
"I gasp...gasp...at first I did think we were going to take on that thing, but when it started to rise and the pressure increased.... Gasp... gasp... gasp... I realized that with our current strength, we wouldn\'t defeat it," Erik replied between groans, being completely honest. At first, he had considered facing off but changed his mind when his own body warned him that he couldn\'t do it.
As they were about to leave the dungeon, they glanced back, and at that precise moment...
Fwoooash!
A huge pillar of pure darkness rose into the sky, covering practically the entire place, and with its appearance, an enormous pressure washed over the surroundings.
"Argh!"
Erik and Violet almost fell to their knees as they felt the enormous pressure on their bodies, without a second thought, they exited the dungeon.
....
When they emerged from the dungeon, they quickly made their way to the association guard who was guarding the place.
"Call...quick, reinforcements!" exclaimed Violet in a hurry. He was still nervous, visibly affected by the tension he had experienced inside the dungeon. She now fully understood why Erik had decided to leave the place instead of confronting the situation.
"Huh? Wait, can you talk a little slower?" the worker asked, completely confused by the words of the woman in front of him.
"What she means is that there has been an irregularity in this dungeon," Violet repeated, this time a little calmer, though her face was still drenched in sweat.
Hearing Violet\'s words, the worker hesitated but quickly remembered that he had to report any irregularity in a dungeon immediately, even if it was false.
Sighing, the worker asked, "Can you tell me their names?"
"Violet and Erik."
The worker took out his phone and began to report the irregularity in the dungeon he was guarding at the time.
[What are the names of the hunters who reported?]
"Their names are Violet and Erik," the worker announced, providing the address of the location in case they needed to send reinforcements.
"You\'ll have to wait a moment and sit in those chairs," the association worker indicated.
Erik and Violet made their way to the chairs to wait, sensing that the worker didn\'t quite believe them about the irregularity. They remembered that the only time they had experienced something similar was when the dungeon had changed rank unexpectedly when Adam\'s group entered, and after that, they had had no further incidents in the lower-ranked dungeons.
In one of the offices at the top of the Hunters\' Association building, a blond-haired man was found engrossed in a mountain of papers. At that precise moment, the office door burst open, ushering in a woman.
"Mr. Leon, an irregularity has been reported," the woman said hurriedly but maintained a respectful tone.
Leon looked up at the woman standing in front of him.
"Where and who are the ones who reported the irregularity?" he asked, as he went back to reviewing the papers strewn on his desk.
"The ones who reported the irregularity are named Erik and Violet."
Hearing the first name, Leon quickly stopped what he was doing, wondering if he had heard correctly.
"What are the names of the people who reported the irregularity in the dungeon?" he inquired again to make sure he had heard correctly.
"The people who reported the irregularity are named Erik and Violet," she repeated in a respectful tone.
"Tell me where the place is and I\'ll be on my way," Leon said getting up from the desk. He knew it was true, as almost all of the current problems were in some way related to Erik.
The woman gave him the address and, looking at the place, Leon left the association accompanied by Adrian. They quickly made their way to where the irregularity had occurred.
...
Minutes later, a black car, completely polarized, stopped in front of the entrance to the dungeon. Two men got out of it, one blond and the other black-haired: they were Leon and Adrian. They walked over to where Erik and Violet were standing, who were now much calmer than when they left the dungeon.
"You don\'t sit still, do you?" Leon commented, looking at Erik, who was sitting in a chair.
\'he\'s gotten stronger in such a short time, and it looks like this woman has talent,\' Leon thought as he watched them.
\'Well, at least I\'m not in a hospital bed anymore,\' Erik said with a small smile, getting up from the chair.
Violet, who knew who Leon was, was completely surprised at how casual Erik was being.
"Greetings aside, what happened in the dungeon?" asked Leon getting straight to the point.
Erik flashed a small smile and began to relate everything that happened inside the dungeon, omitting, of course, the part he had seen with his own eyes. He left no detail unmentioned, describing how the monster began to cover itself and the pillar of darkness they saw as they exited.
"And that\'s all that happened inside the dungeon," Erik concluded.
"Hmm..." Leon was silent, and thoughtful, then asked the person guarding the dungeon entrance a crucial question, "Has the dungeon undergone any changes?"
"No, sir! The dungeon has not undergone any changes," replied the one guarding in a very respectful manner.
"Hmm... I see," Leon muttered, placing his hand on his chin as he pondered the situation in general.
\'It\'s strange that the dungeon hasn\'t changed. Could it have been an outside influence?\' Leon felt that this case wasn\'t as simple as it seemed, as there could be outside influences.
"Adrian, you stay here. I\'m going to take a look inside the dungeon with my own eyes," Leon said, heading towards the entrance.
....